Backyard gas grills have become extremely popular with the typical consumer. They are viewed as being more convenient than charcoal or wood grills because they don't require messy charcoal or wood, they are easy to light, they generally take less time to heat up, and there's no ash to deal with after the grill cools down.
The problem with gas grills is that they generate a moist heat of moderate temperature only. The superior qualities of charcoal and wood fuels, hereinafter "solid fuel", have been known for years. Solid fuels burn hotter and drier than natural gas or propane. This hot dry heat is preferable because it sears food, sealing in moisture, cooks faster, and provides a better tasting result.
The present invention mitigates the problems associated with both gas grills and charcoal grills by providing a fuel basket for holding solid fuel supported above the gas burner in a gas grill. Using this configuration, the solid fuel is easily ignited using the gas burner. Once ignited, the solid fuel cooks the food using the characteristic hot, dry heat associated with charcoal or wood. Consequently, foods grilled using solid fuel cook 20% faster than those grilled using gas alone. Additionally the foods are moister, and, if real wood charcoal is used, are flavored accordingly. The cost of the solid fuel is offset by a reduced consumption of natural gas or propane. Additionally, the invention does not interfere with the normal gas operation of the grill as a gas grill.
One of the primary advantages of the present invention over previous attempts at providing useful solid fuel conversion kits to consumers is that installation is simple, and the device can be easily configured for installation in a variety of manufacturers' gas grills, no matter what the configuration of the gas burner. In fact, the present invention has been tested on a variety of gas grills and every model tested has accommodated the fuel basket and support structure without difficulty.